John William Sephton^{[1, 2, 3]}

1835 - 1914  (78 years)

• Name	John William Sephton  [4]
  Birth	31 Jan 1835	Umpukane Mission, Clocolan, Free State, South Africa   [2, 5]
  Baptism	1 Mar 1835	Albany District, Eastern Cape, South Africa   [2]
  Gender	Male
  1820 Lineage	Yes
  Occupation	Glencoe farm, Barkly East district, Eastern Cape, South Africa   [6]
  farmer
  Death	2 Jan 1914	Glencoe farm, Barkly East, Eastern Cape, South Africa   [3, 6]
  		Sephton, John William (1835-1914) DN Caption Note: https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSQ8-T9RD-Z Keywords: Death Notice
  Burial	Glengyle farm, Barkly East, Eastern Cape, South Africa   [3]
  Person ID	I3775	master
  Last Modified	25 Jul 2021

  
  

  Father	Thomas Hezekiah Sephton, 1820 Settler,   b. 18 Jul 1802, Lincolnshire, England d. 19 Jun 1846, Umpukane Mission, Clocolan, Free State, South Africa (Age 43 years)
  Mother	Sarah Clarke Prynn, 1820 Settler,   b. 12 Jan 1809, England d. 23 Dec 1840, Coranna Station, Lesotho (Basutoland) (Age 31 years)
  Family ID	F16840	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Susan Halse Poultney,   b. 14 Sep 1837, Grahamstown, Eastern Cape, South Africa d. 16 Apr 1923, Glencoe farm, Barkly East, Eastern Cape, South Africa (Age 85 years)
  Marriage	23 Aug 1860	Aliwal North, Eastern Cape, South Africa   [5, 7]
  Children	+ 1. Charles Arthur Augustus Sephton,   b. 1 May 1864, 'Morningsun', Jamestown District, Eastern Cape, South Africa d. 8 Sep 1933, Glengyle farm, Barkly East, Eastern Cape, South Africa (Age 69 years) + 2. Alfred William Sephton,   b. 6 Oct 1865, Queenstown District, Eastern Cape, South Africa d. 22 Oct 1951, 'Wartrail', Barkly East, Eastern Cape, South Africa (Age 86 years) + 3. Gladys Lillian Susan Sephton,   b. 7 Sep 1876, Glengyle farm, Barkly East, Eastern Cape, South Africa d. 9 Nov 1952, 'Wartrail', Barkly East, Eastern Cape, South Africa (Age 76 years)
  Family ID	F1499	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	11 Dec 2007

  
  

• Event Map

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  Birth - 31 Jan 1835 - Umpukane Mission, Clocolan, Free State, South Africa Baptism - 1 Mar 1835 - Albany District, Eastern Cape, South Africa Marriage - 23 Aug 1860 - Aliwal North, Eastern Cape, South Africa Death - 2 Jan 1914 - Glencoe farm, Barkly East, Eastern Cape, South Africa Burial - - Glengyle farm, Barkly East, Eastern Cape, South Africa  = Link to Google Earth

  
  

• Notes

  TAKEN MOSTLY FROM DIARY OF A.W.SEPHTON John William was only 11 years old when his father died, his mother having passed away earlier, he was brought up by his brother-in-law, Richard Giddy, who had married his eldest sister. His only formal education was probably when he visited his grandmother in Grahamstown. At the age of 13 he went to Bloemfontein, on the recomendation of his brother- in- law, as interpreter and guide to 2 gentlemen from London, governor Donald Grant and his secretary Mr W.Stuart, who were taking over the Free State on behalf of the British government. A test of the boys ability showed that his English was fair his Dutch good and his command of the native languages excellent. As they fared North it soon became evident that the gentlemen from London were woefully ignorant of the lore of the veld and they relied entirely on the young lad to guide them. After a halt (perhaps overnight) they had a startling experiance, they were saddling up when a lion roared nearby, Grant and Sephton's horses were ready and they leaped into their saddles and galloped off Stewarts girth was not yet fast but he somehow leaped into the saddle without using a stirrup and galloped away with the girth dangling. Mr Stewart noticing the lad's lack of education felt sorry for him and as one of his duties set him at copying letters for him, which rusulted in an almost copperpate handwriting. His duties took him to the remotest parts of the State, attending court amongst the scattered tribes in the North West, to the young interpreter these wanderings were joyrides full of adventure where game was to be found in large numbers. When the British decided to end their Suzerainty one of John William's last tasks was to take the news of this and the decission of a meeting of burgers to Hoffman stating that he had been chosen to head the new republic. When Sephton found Hoffman and handed him the document Hoffman requested that Sephton read it and translate it for him as it was written in English. We next find John William at the Mission Station with a good horse a gun and a little cash with which he bought a span of oxen. He rode to Thaba Bosigo and laid his case before Moshesh, explaining that he had oxen but no wagon, fortunately for him Moshesh had shortly before in a succesful raid captured several wagons from the bastard chief Tybos and he told Sephton to take his pick. After changing some parts he found himself the owner of a voortrekker type wagon with a full length tent and so he set out to trade. At this time there was a large population along the banks of the Orange river. In the mean time through the representations of Richard Giddy he acquired a farm near Cathcart from where he continued to trade and build up his livestock. In 1860 he gave up trading and after his marriage made an unsuccesful attempt at sheep farming. He then moved to Stormberg and in the summer of 1867 having bought the farm Glengyle he moved there, their first home being a cave. After a survey of the farm the site of the present homestead was considered most suitable and the first section of the house was built by a home born man named Fred Milton. J.W. died at his daughters home " Glencoe " and was buried at " Glengyle "

  
  

• Sources

  [S550] Tanner - Tremaine, Paul, POULTNEY 1820 GEDCOM, (http://www.geocities.com/settlers1820). [S390] Grahamstown Methodist - Commemoration Chapel, Register 29/3/1822 -1860, (CORY MS 15 899/1). [S389] Gush, Ralph & Jessie + Fiona Sephton, GUSH Family Tree. [S2597] 2517051, (https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/2517051), https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSQF-699D-T?i=2215&cc=2517051&cat=331262 (Reliability: 3). Sephton, Thomas Hezekiah(1802-1846) DN Caption Note: https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSQF-699D-T?i=2215&cc=2517051&cat=331262 Keywords: Death Notice [S382] Giddy, Cynthia - GIDDY Family Tree, GIDDY Family Tree. [S2181] Family Search website, (www.familysearch.org), https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSQ8-T9RD-Z (Reliability: 3). [S389] Gush, Ralph & Jessie + Fiona Sephton, GUSH Family Tree. from info sent by Fiona Sephton